Arts integration paints clear picture of success

Kelleen Leslie’s class (with help from music specialist Josh Roberts and Opera By Children) incorporated all the fine arts into a year-end opera. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

Kelleen Leslie masterfully
incorporates art experiences into her daily lessons, providing her students
with a fourth-grade curriculum that is always exciting and new.

“Arts integration gives students a
deeper understanding of the core and teaches my students how to be creative
thinkers and problem solvers,” said Leslie. “It makes school fun again.”

Leslie, who teaches at Blackridge
Elementary, was one of this year’s recipients of the Beverly Taylor Sorensen Legacy
Award, presented to educators who “embrace the arts with
excellence in their practice.”

The Beverly Taylor Sorensen
Foundation believes:

“The study of drama, dance,
music and the visual arts helps students explore realities, relationships and
ideas that cannot be expressed simply in words or numbers.”

Leslie feels the arts are a vital
part of a complete education.

“I am a firm believer that we need
to educate the whole child,” she said.

Leslie uses a variety of methods to
incorporate the arts in her lessons. She uses visual art to enrich learning.
She said when students are challenged to study a painting, they start to notice
things that they didn't even realize were there.

“The students' observation skills
skyrocket,” said Leslie. “They become more observant in other areas,

and they notice the details more thoroughly.”

The activity strengthens the
observation skills needed for following the scientific method. “When they can
learn to see the details in a painting, they can see the details in a science
experiment,” she said.

By discussing what is happening in a painting,
students practice inferring, which Leslie said is a reading strategy most
fourth-graders struggle with.

Leslie assigns her students to
visually explore their science units through mind-mapping. She also teaches
basic drawing techniques that students use to draw realistic plants and animals
when they study Utah ecosystems.

Each day, Leslie begins with a brain
dance to prepare the students to learn. Dance and movement is often used to
reinforce concepts.

“We dance rock cycle,
weather, water cycle, geometry and multiplication,” said Leslie. “When they can
stop being embarrassed and let themselves be engulfed in the movement and music,
it is a beautiful thing to see. I see their confidence grow.”

Shauna
Estes, whose son Matthew is in Leslie’s class, said the movement helps her son
stay focused.

“It’s been really good for my son because he’s
an active kid and just sitting still for long periods of time is hard for him,”
she said.

Jen Pjeter said Leslie’s teaching methods have resonated with
her daughter, Olivia.

“Mrs. Leslie has entirely changed Olivia's experience with
math and restored her confidence,” said Pjeter.

Olivia enjoyed the rhythm and
drumming they used to practice their times tables.

“It helped
me memorize, and I had fun while we were doing it,” said Olivia. “I've never really
liked math until this year.”

Leslie’s students use drama exercises
to perform puppet shows, storytelling and readers’ theaters. They also pantomime
their spelling and vocabulary words to aid with retention.

Camee Montgomery is another parent whose child has thrived in the arts-focused class. Her son Ty said he’s had the best year ever.

“I know that is because of Mrs. Leslie,” said Montgomery. “She is so deserving of the award she won and deserves so many more in my book.”

The year full of fine
arts experiences culminated with a class opera. With support from Opera By
Children and the school’s music specialist, Josh Roberts, students wrote the libretto
(words) and music for the Utah history- themed opera. Students designed, built
and painted scenery. They also choreographed the dances and fashioned their own
costumes.

“Mrs. Leslie incorporates her love of
the arts into all aspects of her teaching and got even my soccer, football and basketball-loving
son to be incredibly excited and proud of being in an opera,” said Montgomery. “She
encourages and pushes them to do better and be the best they can be.”

Leslie
strives to instill confidence in her students to
prepare them to meet new challenges.

“My
greatest joy comes from seeing my students experience new things and do hard
things that they did not think they could do,”
said Leslie.

With the award, Leslie received $2,500, with an additional
$2,500 awarded to the school’s arts programs.